Bodmin Moor is Cornwall's high ground — 80 square miles of ancient granite upland that sits like a forgotten continent in the middle of a county people mostly come to see the sea. Brown Willy at 1,378 feet is the highest point in Cornwall, and the view from its summit takes in both coasts on a clear day: the Bristol Channel to the north, St Austell Bay to the south.
The moor is layered with human history. Prehistoric settlers left stone circles (the Hurlers near Minions, the Tregeseal Dancing Stones), standing stones, and hill forts across the upland. In the 18th and 19th centuries, tin and copper mining carved engine houses into the landscape — their chimney stacks now romantic ruins on the skyline. The Jamaica Inn on Bodmin Moor is Daphne du Maurier country; she wrote the novel here.
The wildlife is extraordinary for England. Red grouse nest in the heather; peregrine falcons hunt the edges of the high tors; Bodmin Moor ponies — ancient semi-feral animals — graze the wetlands year-round. In winter the moor takes on a particular severity: mist in the valleys, frost on the stone, and total silence except for wind and birds.
The locals say
“The moor looks completely different in different seasons and different weather. Don't visit only in sun — come in mist or winter frost and you'll understand why du Maurier set her gothic novel here. Dress for wind whatever the forecast says.”
Getting there
No direct public transport. Drive the A30 and turn off at Bolventor or Five Lanes. Park at the Roughtor car park on the Camelford road, or in Minions village for the Hurlers. Ordnance Survey map OL109 covers the moor.
Best time to visit
October to March for the wildness and solitude. April for the gorse. June for the long summer evenings on the summit.
